Fashion design award: Global Circular Challenge 2022
Fashion Can Do Better. Join us as we reimagine the future of fashion until 10 October 2022
Source: LSE
The Department of Geography and Environment at London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Experience Labs invite universities from around the world to join the Global Circular Challenge. Now is the most exciting time to be an innovator and this competition will equip students with both the skills and the platform to create fashion products that last longer and are designed with the end in mind.
Each participating university can select 1-2 student teams under the guidance of a relevant faculty advisor. These teams will be charged with designing solutions that improve the sourcing, manufacturing, use and disposability of fashion products in a circular world. We are confident this competition will help students find opportunities within the fashion industry and foster meaningful solutions that can contribute to the circular economy.
SIGN UP
Team Registration
If you are interested to compete, please complete the following form by Monday 10 October 2022.
To form a team, you will need to have the approval of a faculty advisor alongside your team members (teams must have a minimum of 4, maximum of 6 members).
Information sessions on Zoom are held on Monday 3 October and Wednesday 5 October to answer any questions you or your team may have. Info session Zoom links are sent to registered teams.
SCHEDULE
The challenge will kickoff on Wednesday 19 October 2022 with teams applying design thinking over the course of 7 weeks. Teams will gather for a finals weekend on 1-3 December 2022 in London.
10 October 2022
Final deadline for Schools to Sign Up. Teams will be notified of their registration status shortly thereafter.
19 October 2022
Kick-off Online Session
October – November 2022
Design Thinking Weekly Virtual Modules
Wednesdays weekly synchronous workshop (online)
1-3 December 2022
Finals Weekend in London
Finals Weekend Schedule (to be confirmed, do not arrange travel until you receive the confirmed schedule)
Thursday 1 December 2022
Afternoon – Circular Economy Entrepreneurship Panel
Evening – “Speed Networking” Event with Fashion Experts
Friday 2 December 2022
Morning – Circular Economy Workshops
Afternoon – Presentation Practice Runs and Feedback from Judges
Evening – Team Virtual Social Event
Saturday 3 December 2022
Morning, Semi-Finals Pitch Presentations
Afternoon, Finals
Evening, Gala & Announcement of Winners
DESIGN THINKING
The Global Circular Challenge’s internal engine and differentiator is Design Thinking. Design Thinking is a collaborative creative problem-solving methodology used to generate innovative human-centered solutions. It is a framework + a mindset that fuels innovation.
Design Thinking is driven by Three Core Beliefs:
- Empathy – Establish a deep understanding of human needs. Design thinking emphasises the importance of developing deep empathy for the humans served by the creations we intend to design.
- Invention – Discover new possibilities. Design Thinking focuses on possibilities rather than constraints so that the future ends up looking different than the present.
- Iteration – Use the first solutions as stepping stones to a better solution. Design Thinking treats new ideas as hypotheses to be systematically tested and evaluated. Testing prototypes with potential users provides us with useful feedback that can be used to refine the idea and iterate to a better concept.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
The industrial revolution ushered in the rapid pace of technological progress that has allowed our global economy to turn our vast resources into an extraordinary number of products. But our way of doing things is reaching limits and the current system is no longer working for business, people or the environment. We take resources from the ground to make products, which we use, and then, when we no longer want them, throw them away. This is the linear Take-Make-Waste economy.
We have an alternative. The Circular Economy seeks to design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use and regenerate natural systems. According to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the circular economy could save $700 million USD in annual material cost savings, provide a 48% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and provide a $550 billion USD reduction in health care costs associated with the food sector. The opportunities are endless. It’s a new way to design, make and use things within our planetary boundaries.
Transitioning to a circular economy does not only amount to adjustments aimed at reducing the negative impacts of the linear economy. Rather, it represents a systemic shift that builds long-term resilience, generates business and economic opportunities, and provides environmental and societal benefits.
Watch a video from The Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
CONTACT
For any questions about the Global Circular Challenge, please contact Director Karen Hold or Faculty Director Dr Jason Wong.
Participating Faculty 2022:
Dr Jason Wong, Visiting Fellow and Assistant Professor of Economics
Dr Julia Corwin, Assistant Professor in Environment
Dr Thomas Smith, Assistant Professor in Environmental Geography
Source image: Luxury Brands Are Embracing Circular Fashion – Harpers Bazaar
